Even though two time Olympic gold medalist Māris Štrombergs was asked to be Latvia’s flagbearer at the closing ceremonies, Štrombergs and Latvia’s BMXers decided that the honour should go to Ineta Radēviča who had missed a bronze medal in the long jump by just 1cm.

In a press release Latvia’s Olympic Committee reported that after making their decision, the BMXers sought out Radēviča who, overcome with emotion, agreed. She was quoted saying that this was the best thing that’s happened to her in London.

On the last day of competition there were no surprises and Latvia’s medal count stayed at one gold and one bronze. As of late Saturday, Latvia was 48th in the official medal standings where golds count more than silvers and silvers more than bronze. Meanwhile Lithuania pulled in a sprint canoeing silver on the last day of competition to up their count to four medals including a gold and finished tied at 40th while Estonia trailed at 61st with a silver and a bronze.

Latvia’s last hopefuls, pentathlete Denis Čerkovskis ended up 19th, wrestler Armands Zvirbulis did not make it past the quarter-finals, sprint kayakers Krists Straume and Aleksejs Rumjancevs placed 3rd in the B final which put them in 11th place overall while racer walker Igors Kazakevičs came in 45th over 50km.

Viewers of the Games no doubt noticed that there were faces and names that one would not normally associate with the country whose colours the athletes were carrying. Not surprising in this day of mass global movement and dual citizenship. One such athlete was Sanita Pušpūre, a 30 year old Latvian now from Cork in Ireland. Pušpūre competed for Ireland in the women’s single sculls which is a rowing discipline. She finished 1st in the C final putting her 13th overall. Pušpūre has competed internationally for Latvia but qualified for the Olympics for Ireland. Traditional sports such as Gaelic football, hurling and rugby are popular with the Irish leaving the field wide open for recent immigrants in others.

Latvia maintained its medal streak at the London games. They have come home with at least one medal from each Summer Olympics since the 1932 at Los Angeles when legendary walker Jānis Daliņš took the silver in the 50km race. That of course does not include games held while Latvia was occupied. Moreover, high profile wins this year in BMX cycling and Beach Volleyball mean that the name Latvia was seen and heard by millions around the world.

Twenty five year old Māris Štrombergs from Latvia, nicknamed “The Machine”, repeated his Beijing 2008 victory and took the gold medal in the men’s Bicycle Motocross (a.k.a BMX) at London finishing in 37.576 seconds. He is the first ever athlete from Latvia to win two Olympic gold medals. BMX was introduced to the Olympics in 2008 and Štrombergs has been the sport’s only Olympic gold medalist.

Strombergs is 25 and was born in Valmiera but now lives in California. He took up biking at the age of 6 and between races is known to visit elementary schools to promote a healthy diet and life-style.

After winning in Beijing, Štrombergs struggled on the racing circuit. In 2010 he suffered major injuries that required surgery and took him out of action for six months. He had not impressed in the lead-up at London and finished 3rd in his semi-final heat. But the veteran racer put it together when it counted and led throughout the final run staying ahead of the Australian silver medal winner. Colombia took the bronze.

Meanwhile Latvia’s 24 year old BMXer Edžus Treimanis placed 5th in his semi-final run while 20 year old Rihards Veide came in 7th. Although neither advanced, Latvia made a strong statement placing three of the final sixteen riders. Latvia’s sole women’s BMXer, 21 year old Sandra Aleksejeva, finished 7th in her semi-final heat and did not advance.

After falling behind and losing the 1st set, Latvia’s Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Jānis Šmēdiņš rallied to win the last two sets and defeated the Dutch bringing home a bronze medal for Latvia. Beach volleyball was first played at the 1996 Atlanta games and is popular around the world. For Latvia to win a bronze medal and hold their own against the likes of Germany, Brazil and the United States is a major accomplishment.

Meanwhile Latvia’s BMXers came through in the quarterfinals. Edžus Treimanis, Rihards Veide and Beijing gold medalist Māris Štrombergs, all advanced to Friday’s semi-finals. Latvia has three riders in the two semi-final heats. That’s more than any other country. Australia, Colombia, France, the Netherlands and the United States have two while Great Britain, New Zealand and Switzerland round off the field each with one. The final consisting of the top eight will also be run on Friday.

Latvia has a tradition of excelling in the bobsleigh, luge and the skeleton, dangerous winter sports where athletes hurl themselves down icy runs at breath-taking speeds. Perhaps it’s not surprising that they’re leaving their mark in BMX cycling which also features wild rides by cyclists racing around a tight course with jumps and sharp bends.

Ineta Radeviča missed a bronze medal in the women’s long-jump on Wednesday by only 1cm and came in fourth. One centimeter is just over 3/8 of an inch. That’s how close she came.

While Latvia’s canoeists, pentathletes and a wrestler are still competing, all eyes will be on the BMXers to see if they can bring home another medal. That would equal the medal count won by each of Lithuania and Estonia.